Reviews by Bricelyn:

I have been looking for this style of beer as of late and stumbled across this recognizing the HB from the fest pics on the net.

Serving this from two 12 oz bottles into my 240z mug. it pours clear and golden as your first morning pee after a night of drinking! A nice white whispy ehad which leaves very little lace down the sides of the mug. Smells of Malt Hay and german hops! Reinheitsgebot it states on the bottle following the tradition from 1516. Taste is sweet malt hay hitting you with on style (lets be honest this beer is the style) Hops and a tiny bit of bitterness at the end that mellows into a sticky mouth feel!

Great beer wish I was in Germany But alas I have to settle for my imagination! (740 characters)

More User Reviews:

4/5 rDev +19.8%

Just a general comment and observation on some of the reviews of the German Oktoberfest on here. To say Spaten-Franziskaner, Paulaner, Warsteiner, Hofbrau, etc "are not good representations of the style" is an erroneous and quite snobbish, ignorant American view. Although all large breweries, those companies ARE Oktoberfest and are all that's served in the Munich beer tents. Far, far before American micro-breweries, craft brewers, and snobbish beer geeks, these styles epitomized what not only an Oktoberfest brew is, but their main line epitomized what German beer is. Before Papa Joe's IPA shack was sold all over the place, going to a German restaurant and having a Spaten on draft was beyond a treat. Now that we're all so spoiled, and 5000 beers in a store still isn't enough, we've cast off some of these larger European breweries to the curb and put them in the same class as a Miller. These companies ARE "the style". Some backyard hipsters operating in a 1000 sqft facility craft brewing are not "the experts" and leading what an Oktoberfest is. In fact no American brewery is. There's a huge difference between the German style and the American version. I look for authentic beers, and when it comes to Oktoberfest, the ONLY beers to drink are from Munich. The American versions are drain-pour. Sometimes it's just about the drinkability and being able to pound liter after liter and have fun. Not jack up the ABV to heightened levels, sell it for a premium, and make every bottle some ride on the wild side. Tis the Gemütlichkeit - ein prosit! (1,572 characters)

Comments: This was an average Oktoberfestbier. I've had many better, but I think a lot of the problem with this one was its freshness. I questioned its freshness, but there was no date on the bottle to tell. I think this would be a much different beer had it been sampled in Munich fresh. By the time it made it to my LBS, it tasted sort of tired.... (680 characters)

Presentation: It was poured from a green 11.2oz bottle into a small mug. The bottle has no freshness date or ABV but on the back label there is a short description of the Munich Oktoberfest and how Hofbrau Munchen (HB) is one of the breweries granted the privilege of supplying beer at the fest.

Appearance: It has a golden clear body with some carbonation and a tall bright white head on top. The head is light and soapy so it settles quickly. As I drink it does make some lacing on the glass.

Smell: The aroma is pale and biscuity with lots of dried leafy hop notes.

Taste/Palate: Mostly I get the dry leafy hops with some very light pale biscuity maltiness with just a slight nutty character. The finish is dry with lots of leafy hop spice and mild nutty notes hanging onto the tongue of a bit.

Notes: Overall it was a nice but an average Oktoberfest beer in my opinion. For me it was a little bit of a let down since I really enjoyed their Dunkel, Hefeweizen and Hells. (980 characters)

12 oz green bottle pours a clear, pale yellow body with a one inch white head. Retention is fair, and there are some streaks of patchy lace left on the glass. Aroma is hoppy for an O'fest, with spicy and floral notes dominating a subdued caramel malt base. Mouthfeel is light bodied, with considerable carbonation and a slight hops bite. Taste is somewhat like a pils or helles, with a dominant floral bitterness. Caramel maltiness is very understated. Not exactly to style, but very drinkable. No skunky character from the green bottle, thankfully. (549 characters)

Pours light yellow/golden, minor head and lacing. Nose is toasted malt. Not the most exciting style for me. This one has less malt and more hops then expected. Notes of spicy honey and maybe some melon. Balanced and quite drinkable. Quite full bodied. Reasonably enjoyable sessioner, fairly tasty brew. (302 characters)

The beer pours a yellow color with a white head. The aroma is strongly skunky with nothing else coming through. There is clearly something wrong with the beer, but if the brewer chooses to use green bottles, they deserve the bad reviews when the green bottle causes skunking. The flavor is not as skunky and I get some grain and corn. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Disappointing. (433 characters)

The Oktoberfest hangover is nearly over in Kitchener-Waterloo, but there is still evidence of the festival lingering around the cities. Case in point, a large stash of this Oktoberfest brew still available at pretty much every LCBO in town.

Poured into a nonic. Pale golden, with visible carbonation lasting for quite some time. A 1/2 inch head that survives quite well in the form of a ring and thin layer. Some flecks of lacing - decent retention actually. Not the robust brew I was hoping for, but it still looks just fine.

The nose is extremely mild and hard to discern. Cereals, malty sweetness, a touch of hop bitterness. Truth be told, there's not much separating this brew's nose from that of the many Eastern European macro lagers that grace the LCBO's shelves.

Surprisingly sweet and fruity, with notes of apple and pear. The sweetness is quite overpowering, but eventually diminishes to a tart, peppery hop finish. A touch of warming alcohol here. Drinkable, nothing offensive or artificial, but the sweetness is almost cloying.

Thin, watery (actually a plus for an Oktoberfest brew), but with tart, aggressive carbonation that nips at the back of the tongue.

I had this last year and wasn't that impressed with it; after a year, my tastes haven't changed much on this brew. For me, it struggles with the basic test of an Oktoberfestbier: "Would I want to drink a LOT of this in one sitting (i.e., a stein or MaB worth)?" A big no on that one - the sweetness is simply too much, and there isn't much else to distinguish this brew from other Euro lagers to make it worth my while. I can drink this, and a pint isn't bad, but marking for the style, it's not one I'd pick up again. (1,696 characters)

Bright gold pour with a fizzy white head. Metal, caramel, sugar, and grass in the aroma. Butter, wheat, malt, and a slight Heineken hop skunkiness. Look, I know this beer is not supposd to be as full-bodied as the others as this is to be drunk is large quantities at Oktoberfest. I just wish it tasted better. (309 characters)

A-served in a stein this one has much less color than most-definitely more golden than amber. The white head quickly is gone leaving hints of lace on the glass. S-not a lot going on here-very light on the sweet malt, very paleT-same as aromaM-fairly clean finish, otherwise pretty average across the boardO-Really surprised that even on tap this one has some hints of skunk. One of my least favorite marzens (411 characters)

Taste - very clean taste, some hopes based tasting, goes down very smooth with almost no aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - beer does carbonate and provide a nice mouth taste. Same taste except last a little longer.

Drinkability - I am learning, but for a 6%+ alcohol rated beer, i found this to be very clean and refreshing. I am most certainly impressed with the "freshness" this beer offers and could drink a few in a sitting. (709 characters)